OrbVPN
A post-quantum VPN, built to get through censorship.
3,398 commits
Nima Golsharifi
From atoms to arguments. Scientist, inventor and CEO, engineer and author. Scroll through his work from the scale of a galaxy down to a single carbon bond.
This scale opens: Journal · Gravity Doesn't Vote
Gravity doesn't vote
The largest scale holds the journal on public questions and the forthcoming book: rules that apply to everyone.
Go to Journal- 1021 mGravity doesn't vote — The largest scale holds the journal on public questions and the forthcoming book: rules that apply to everyone.
- 107 mPublic life — Talks, interviews and the press room. Every appearance is listed with its date, role and source.
- 100 mNima Golsharifi — Scientist, inventor, CEO and author of Dreamscape Code.
- 10−1 mBuilt by hand first — MEng in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southampton. Inventions live at this scale.
- 10−3 mPhD, UCL — Electronic and Electrical Engineering at University College London, and device work in the cleanroom of the London Centre for Nanotechnology.
- 10−8 mSoftware, built hands-on — Privacy networks, apps, an AI film studio and finance infrastructure: 17,341 commits under his own account.
- 10−10 mWhere it starts — MSc in Nanotechnology at UCL. Diamond is carbon arranged atom by atom: the material behind his research and patent filings.
New novel · Tingle Press
Dreamscape Code
Six months ago Tom walked into a storm and never came back. Kate, a nurse, follows him into the worlds we enter in sleep, to the In-Between Hotel that guards them all.
Research · Inventions
Diamond, and the nucleus
A scientist and inventor trained in the cleanroom of the London Centre for Nanotechnology, he works on nuclear energy in all three of its forms: power from radioactive decay, a thorium reactor design and a study of proton–boron fusion.
- Decayn → p + e− + νeNuclear voltaic power sources
- Fission232Th + n → 233UA dual-fluid thorium reactor design
- Fusionp + 11B → 3 4HeA study of proton–boron fusion
- 101Diamond-based charge generators, stacked against the source
- 102Radioisotope, embedded in diamond
- 103Electric contacts
- 104Diamond radiation shield around the whole device
- 201–206Inside each generator: ohmic contact, P⁺ diamond, P-type diamond, Schottky contact, insulator, end contact
- 207Surface functionalisation between the P-type diamond and the Schottky contact
Nuclear voltaic power source
US 12,394,534 B2 · Granted
- 1Spherical containment with radiation shielding
- 2Xenon gas at one to two atmospheres
- 3Radioisotope aerosol, its particle size tuned to each isotope
- 4Xenon scintillation: ultraviolet photons near 175 nm
- 5Wide-bandgap semiconductor lining, such as diamond or aluminium nitride
- 6Electrical contacts
Xenon gas nuclear voltaic source
US20260196372A1 · Allowed by examiner, 12 Aug 2026
- 1Nanodiamond, about 5 nm across
- 2Annealed at 1,000–4,000 °C under inert gas or in vacuum, for a minute to a day
- 3Carbon nano-onion: the diamond has become nested graphitic shells
- 4Surface functionalised with plasma, ozone, acids or UV amination
Making carbon nano-onions from nanodiamond
US 12,759,882 B2 · Granted
Business
Founder and CEO since 2012
He builds companies, and the teams inside them: NDB, NuBatt, ORB Group, OrbVPN and Gammanics. A team of more than 40 at once at NDB, and a mentor to founders in FedTech’s accelerators for the US Army and NASA. His work has taken him to 100 cities in 43 countries and territories.
- 2012the year he founded ORB Group; he has led companies ever since
- 8countries where companies he founded or leads have been registered
- 40+people on NDB’s team at once, at its peak in 2021
- 5accelerators he has mentored in, for the US Army and NASA
Software
Still writing the code
Hylon
An AI platform built on the OrbVPN network, with devices as edge nodes and its own GPU for training.
348 commits
Orbit
A browser built on Chromium, with AI, privacy and security built in.
120 commits
Tingle Studio
Book or script in, finished film out.
209 commits
Stage
Podcasts, interviews and talks
Video · TechXPAND, Riyadh · Dec 2023
Panel: Technology that Powers the Future
Watch →Interview · New Atlas · 25 Aug 2020Interview: The NDB team on its revolutionary nano-diamond batteries
Read →Podcast · Energy Cast · 9 May 2022Episode 140: Durable Diamonds, with NDB's CEO
Listen →Video · DW · 2022Could diamond batteries revolutionise energy supply?
Watch →Interview · Future Net Zero · 23 Oct 2020“By 2023 we will deliver batteries that hold a single charge for nine years”
Read →Video · Orano · 7 Jul 2020The final of “Let’s reinvent nuclear industry together!”, with NDB named Grand Finalist
Watch →Article · Tech Briefs · 1 Feb 2021Nano Diamond Battery provides universal applicability
Read →Interview · Techstars · 21 Sep 2022Get to know Gammanics, Paris Techstars Accelerator
Read →Off the clock
A race car and an open chess board
Work with Nima
Strategy sessions, advisory, software builds and speaking. Every enquiry gets a reply within two working days.